


How Late Do You Stay Open?

by edtheoddfish



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Fluff, Humor, M/M, Romance, Science Boyfriends, Work In Progress, bros who love bros, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2016-03-26
Packaged: 2018-05-07 14:30:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5459849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edtheoddfish/pseuds/edtheoddfish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry Allen was a barista at Jitters when the Star Labs Particle Accelerator crashed. Of course this doesn't stop him from becoming the Flash.<br/>WIP.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Next Time

**Author's Note:**

> So this started out as a 5 + 1, then morphed into a freeform fluff fic, then I though nah, Barry Allen is the Flash and I'm gonna stick to that. So this happened.

 

**Two Weeks to Launch**

 

Cisco Ramon had started coming to Jitter's coffee shop regularly when he found out that the cafe had extended evening hours past 9pm. It was less hectic after nine with less than ten patrons all working quietly at their tables and booths. There was only one barista and he was alternating between cleaning and refilling coffee.

 

He had finished his Americano and subsequently switched to decaf coffee to take his nerves down a notch. Or five notches. He was incredibly stressed about the looming deadline hanging over his head. 

 

Cisco sighed and stepped outside. It was three weeks till the launch of the Particle Accelerator at STAR. labs. At this point he was just running different equations to confirm that the launch was completely safe and no combination of variables could influence the success of launch. Unfortunately, that set of variable was unlimited and therefore completely engulfing his life. He was dreading the work he would be doing on environmental factors influencing the launch. Yay, weather.

 

He had been working on the same complicated equation for the past hour and a half. Something involving the force and inertia of torrential weather storm hitting a building at different angles and its reaction of bouncing off the building. It was simple physics for him, but there was a lot to calculate when including so many different types of storms. Plus, his work was being checked by none other than stupid-Hartley Rathaway, which added to his nerves.

 

When he returned to his mess of papers that were covering his laptop he noticed a cronut on a plate and a handwritten note ‘there was one left over, hope it helps : )’. Cisco looked around and noticed the barista who was fiddling with the espresso machine. He smiled softly then unfortunately went back to work.

* * *

 

 

**Nine Days to Launch**

 

He stumbled into Jitters' at a quarter past nine. He was exhausted. He still hadn't solved his set of equations but he was pretty sure that Hartley had. It was beyond frustrating the cockiness of that man. He just wanted to prove to Dr. Wells and to himself that he was a capable engineer who deserved to be at STAR Labs. He was worth it and solving these equations would prove it.

 

There was no line this late at night and Cisco opened his mouth to order when a tall barista behind the counter greeted him cheerfully. 

 

"Good evening! Your Americano is almost ready and I have a fresh pot of decaf roasting as we speak!"

 

Cisco blinked. Was this man a mind reader? "How do you know that?"

 

The other man laughed softly, "You’re one of my regulars. You come in every night around 9:15 and order the same two things. You sit at the same table by the window and stay until I close. You’re Decaf/Americano guy."

 

And Cisco instantly flushed. How had he never noticed the taller man who knew him as a regular? He had never spent too much time noticing the man behind the counter. Who now on inspection was good looking. _Very good looking_. He was tall and had really broad shoulders, his skin was pale with a few moles speckled on his neck that were uncovered by his apron. He had a bright smile and dimples. He was mentally kicking himself in the face for not recognizing the beautiful barista behind the counter.

 

"And you don't recognize me..." The other man trailed off disappointed.

 

Cisco bit his lip and thought of a creative way to get out of the situation. But nothing came to mind.

 

"I'm Barry." the man said softly and rang up Cisco's order. Barry had stopped smiling and in that moment Cisco knew that he would do whatever was possible to keep a smile on the taller beautiful man's face. 

 

"I'm Cisco." He said and dropped a five dollar tip the in the jar. And on queue Barry lit up and smiled at him. Cisco felt warm, being in the direction of a smile that bright was like starring at the sun.

 

* * *

 

**Seven Days until Launch**

The next time Cisco saw Barry was two days later at 9:15pm sharp. He felt almost obligated to continue being Barry’s regular customer. It was kind of silly that he wanted to impress Barry but at the same receiving Barry’s approval was an internal need of Cisco’s. He always wanted people to like him and be the funny guy. And that’s why Hartley bugged him so much. He instantly hated Cisco without even giving him a chance to dazzle.

 

He walked to the counter and instantly Barry smiled to greet him

 

“Hey Barry,” Cisco started really enunciating Barry’s name to prove that he remembered the tall barista now.

 

“Hey Cisco! The usual?” He said grinning and pushing at the touch screen between them. Cisco nodded and took a breath. This was going to the moment where he showed his sweet flirting moves.

 

“Yeah!” He shouted and winced. Okay bad first move, but there is room for improvement. “I mean no, I want to try something new. Uh-what do you recommend?”

 

Barry stopped and looked at him, “My favorite drink we make is this orange mocha. It’s not too sweet and I make a little orange design from the foam on top. “

 

“I’ll take two.”

 

Barry looked at him, head slightly to the side. “Why two?”

 

“One for me and one so you can join me during your break.” And whoop, there it is. Cisco smiled and fortunately Barry smiled back at him.

 

“Absolutely! I’d like that. I can actually take 15 right now if that’s okay?”

 

Within 10 minutes of Barry’s break, Cisco found out that Barry was a senior in college, studying both Physics and Chemistry. Which made Cisco's heart swell. He always had a thing for smart beautiful men. Barry had an internship at the Central City Police Department and would be applying to become a Forensic Assistant in three months. Barry Allen lived with his adopted father while his sort of sister was living in a dorm at Central City College where he attended too but was two years ahead of her despite being the same age. He learned that Barry preferred espresso over coffee and always brought home leftovers to his adopted Dad because he worked too hard and forgot to eat.

 

“So what do you do? Something important right? That’s why you’re always here working.”

 

“I’m actually an engineer at STAR Labs.”

 

“Shut up.”

 

Cisco smiled, “No way, I really am. I’m working on the Particle Accelerator.”

 

Barry’s jaw couldn’t get any lower from shock.

 

“Get out of town.”

 

“I’m serious!

 

And Barry didn’t stop smiling at him until his fifteen minutes were over.

 

* * *

 

**Six Days until Launch**

When he arrived at Jitters, his mind was rushing with the big news Ronnie had dropped him at work an hour ago. They were running tests deep in the core of the Particle Accelerator when Ronnie grabbed a box from his coat pocket and opened the velvet container to reveal a beautiful diamond ring.

 

“Ronnie, things are just moving so fast.”

 

He snapped the box shut and gave Cisco a look of mild amusement and annoyance.

 

“Cisco, I think I’m going to propose to Caitlin tonight. After everyone’s left. I have these candles and I have a reveal prepared. Do you think she will say yes? Is the ring too big? Is it too small?” Ronnie was rambling and Cisco’s brain was slowly catching up.

 

“Dude! You’re gonna propose to Caitlin??” He finally responded with excitement. He had grabbed Ronnie’s arms and was jumping.

 

“Oh my god, she is going to love it. She loves you so much!”

 

Ronnie smiled and they eventually went back to their work. Both of them more focused on the proposal than the core.  

 

“Can I be the best man?” Cisco had brought up mostly joking but when Ronnie confirmed he was even more excited. He could already imagine all of shenanigans at the bachelor party. The speeches he would prepare to embarrass his favorite couple. And Barry as his plus one at the wedding. And that was probably a big step. But hey if Caitlin and Ronnie could find love maybe Cisco could too.

 

The café was quiet as usual, soft music playing from what might be Barry’s phone playlist. He was starting to remember recurring songs. Speaking of Barry, he was at the counter looking intensely at a large textbook and several papers scattered between the register and the espresso machine.

 

“Hey Barry...” Cisco said softly leaning on the balls of his feet.

 

Barry’s head snapped up, clearly breaking from an all too familiar work trance.

 

“Hey Cisco, sorry about the mess. I have midterms in a few weeks for my Physics of the Body class. It’s going to kick my butt if I don’t finish this study guide and figure out how to find the variants in these equations.”

 

Cisco wasn’t a specialist of Bio-physics but he had a pretty good grasp of what Barry could be working on. He saw his chance and he swooped in.

 

“You know… If you needed some help, I am just going to be sitting over there…” He stopped momentarily to read Barry’s face. “All night,” and he wiggled his eyebrows. “Available for questions.”

 

“But you’re busy.” Barry introjected.

 

“I always have time for my favorite barista.”

 

And Barry smiled and poured him his drinks trying not blush.

 

* * *

 

 

**Five Days until Launch**

 

The next day Cisco felt a little silly coming into Jitters. How was he supposed to act after sitting next to Barry last night helping him his homework? He could have sworn that Barry had been sitting closer than he needed to and had reached over him to solve equations a lot. It had been really nice but he had forgotten to grab Barry’s number, again. He literally was the dumbest man in Central City. He walked up to Barry who was talking with a beautiful woman in a tight gray dress. In the back of his mind he vaguely remembered seeing her in an apron during the day. And he realized she must be Iris West. Barry’s sort-of sister.

 

“It’s fine. Don’t even worry.” He overheard Barry saying to her.

 

“I just think you should be really clear. Think about how long it took to go on a first date with Becky Cooper?”

 

“Iris!” Barry snapped and Cisco noted how the tips of his ear flushed when he was embarrassed.

 

She laughed and that’s when they noticed Cisco standing a few steps behind them, awkwardly.

 

Barry flushed even further red and Cisco smiled at him.

 

“Hey Barry.”

 

Before Barry had the chance to greet him, Iris turned a full 180 and gave him a full look up and down. And suddenly he felt as red as Barry. He wasn’t dressed up to impress. He was just wearing blue jeans and a tee-shirt. His normal clothes. But he felt plain and underserving of Iris’ approval. Which in his mind correlated to how much Barry would potentially like him.

 

“You must be Cisco. Nice to meet you, I’m Iris. Barry’s sister.” She said extending her hand and he shook it trying to shake her hand with confidence and purpose.

 

“Barry has told me _all_ about you.”

 

What had Barry told her? Did he talk about his job at STAR labs or his coffee addiction? He mentally berated himself for not being cooler with Barry. But then his worries faded away because Barry spoke up.

 

“Cisco this is Iris, but she was leaving. I have your drinks ready, over here. “He said moving his head in the direction of the pickup counter. Iris smirked and grabbed a koozie for her drink and did in fact leave after telling Barry something in what could only be defined as weird brother-sister code. Whatever they said, she smiled and he blushed.

 

“Sorry about that… Iris comes on really strong.”

 

“No worries! But unfortunately I can’t stay tonight. I’ll need my drinks to go. Duty calls. “

 

Barry smiled, “Engineering duties?”

 

Cisco struck a quick superhero-esque pose causing Barry to snort and then flush in embarrassment. Which warmed Cisco’s heart. Maybe he wasn’t the biggest nerd. They talked briefly about the launch before Cisco ducked out wishing that he had more time to spend with the beautiful barista. And shit! He still hadn’t got his number.

 

* * *

 

 

**Four Days until Launch**

  

“Hey, Barry, I wanted to give you my number in case you needed more homework help. “ He suggested, proud of his control of tone and not sounding like he had practiced the line on repeat on the way over from work.

 

“Yeah! I would love that, I’ve been giving you my number for the past week but I haven’t got a text. I was starting to think you didn’t want to talk..:” The taller man replied nonchalantly as he erased a large piece of writing on his page under assignment 2a.

 

In shock, Cisco almost fell out of his chair next to Barry.

 

“When?”

 

And Barry looked up lifting the pencil to drum softly on his lips. Which Cisco noted were very pink. He would give anything to reach over and kiss them. But he refrained.

 

“I’ve been writing my number on all of the to-go cups you get.”

 

Disbelief. Frustration. Depression. Sadness. Cisco was an idiot. But he didn’t feel as dumb when Barry reached over him and programmed his digits into his phone. Slightly staying in his space after he gave the phone back.

 

* * *

 

 

**Three Days until Launch**

 

It was late, only three days before the launch of the Particle Accelerator when Cisco got a wild idea. He could invite Barry Allen as his plus one to the reception. Not only would Barry be great company but would look amazing next to him. He could imagined Barry in a suit jacket and blue jeans. Or maybe Barry would wear a complete suit. Either way he was giddy with the idea of Barry Allen in STAR labs. Barry Allen meeting his boss, Barry meeting Caitlin and Ronnie. His heart was beating faster at just the idea.

 

Barry took his 15 minute break and sat next to him at one of the high tables. They were sitting close and Barry was sipping his drink. He was wearing a long gray sweater with a blue button up underneath. He looked subtly gorgeous.

 

“So… Are you gonna watch the launch?” Cisco started, deciding which route to go to ask Barry on a date. It was dangerous territory from inviting a friend and inviting a _friend._

 

“Yes, actually Iris and I were going to go the debut of the Particle Accelerator at STAR Labs. We got some General Assembly tickets.” Barry answered smiling.

 

“Well I was wondering if you wanted a better view? “ He stopped and Barry cocked his head slightly sideways. Okay, so this route to asking Barry out was too subtle.

 

“Like you know, with me. At the launch party?” He continued smiling big. And then suddenly Barry was wrapping arms around him with a smile as large as his. It was a short hug but it was nice and Cisco could feel the heat from Barry’s arm on his.

 

“Really? I would love that!”

 

He stopped and decided that this was the do-or-die moment. This was the moment he was going to tell Barry Allen that he wanted to go on a date with him.

 

“Because I would really like you to be there with me.” Cisco paused. “You know with me...” He annunciated each syllable while staring at Barry pointedly.  

 

And Barry didn’t even take a beat to catch a breath. He was shocked when Barry had gently pressed his lips onto his own. It was less than a second but he instantly flushed and wanted to kiss Barry again.

 

“Yes! Absolutely! Oh my god. Really??? Thank you!!”

Cisco smiled and Barry didn’t stop rambling.

“What do I wear to the launch of the biggest event in modern science?”

 

“Anything really.”

 

“And ohmygod Harrison Wells is going to be there. I’ve read his autobiography three times.”

 

Cisco just gazed as Barry ranted about the importance of the event and how he hadn’t stopped touching his arm since the initial hug and the buzz of contact from their chaste kiss. It felt hot on his arm and was causing him to smile funny. He felt so lucky.

 

* * *

 

 

**Day of Launch**

 

Cisco was about to call Barry from his apartment. He was going to swing by Jitters’ to pick up Barry so they could walk over to STAR Labs. But it had started to rain like crazy for the past hour. Maybe they should get a cab considering... His entire apartment building felt heavy because of the rain. And his hair felt heavy and was starting to curl from humidity. His least favorite thing. Maybe it hindsight it was sign.

 

The entire city seemed to be in suspense for the event. Several roads were closed and the roads were starting to be engulfed in rain. And on each block there were protestors and counter-protests, causing traffic to be delayed even further.

 

Despite the weather and his bad hair day, Cisco was excited. Nervous and jumpy and he had combed his hair down for the tenth time to try to calm his nerves. Cisco was wearing a suit jacket over his favorite blue tee-shirt and jeans. Caitlin had recommended the suit jacket as an extra precaution to woo Barry. He felt like he looked good overall.

 

He looked at his phone and there was a text from Barry.

_Call me when you can._

“Hey Barry, I’m about to head over, shouldn’t take me longer than 10 minutes.”

 

“Cisco… Jan couldn’t make it in. Her train was delayed from all of the traffic and the rain. I can’t leave until she gets here.”

 

“Barry…”

 

“You should go ahead of me and I’ll meet up with you at the after party…”

 

Cisco paused. He really wanted Barry by his side during the speeches, but he also couldn’t tell him to ditch his job. That wasn’t cool.

 

“Yeah. I’ll put your name on the list.” He signed woefully.

 

“I’ll be watching you, uh it on the TV until the minute Jan gets here. Then I’ll literally speed over there. As fast as I can.”

 

Cisco laughed slightly in the phone. He briefly remembered Barry telling him about his lack of athletic ability and the image of tall, lengthy Barry running was really funny. “I know. And I can’t wait, see you then. “

 

“Right. Well good luck.”

 

Cisco hung up and looked in the mirror in his apartment foyer. He wasn’t mad or anything. These things happened, even on the most important days. Just it was the most important day of his life. And it sucked. It was superficial, but having a plus one to the launch would really boost his confidence and show up Hartley. And also he wanted Caitlin and Ronnie to meet Barry. Having all of his favorite people in one place would be really nice. Also he really wanted to kiss Barry again and a fancy dinner party would be an awesome excuse.

 

And for a second he thought of missing the launch to spend it with his favorite barista at Jitters Café. He could imagine the rush on running into Jitters and surprising Barry as they watched the news reporter announce the success of Accelerator. He pictured Barry kissing his cheek as they toasted the evening. But then he received a text from his phone.

 

Cisco. We need you. Something is...off.

 

* * *

 

 

**The Launch**

 

Barry was grumpily standing behind a counter of a deserted Jitters. Most everyone had gone home except for the occasional straggler. The rain was hitting the glass walls and hitting the building loudly. It would be a great studying environment if he hadn’t been so stressed out about Jan’s tardiness that he couldn’t even sit without having to move again.

 

It sucked that he was missing the launch. In the past week he had started to really develop a crush on the STAR labs scientist. He was silly and confident in a way he personally couldn’t pull off. Plus his conditioner game was on point. He really wanted to run his fingers through his hair next time they kissed.

 

On top of Cisco being an amazing guy he did want to support him on his work on the Accelerator. Blasting the atom in half would create endless possibilities for the advancement of science. Kind of like Cisco’s and Barry’s possible future. So far it was small, but each time they interacted it got bigger and bigger. And frankly Barry was starting to feel a little smitten. But then poor Jan and her terrible commuting and the awful weather ruined his first date.

 

Barry sighed and glanced up at Channel 8 where the new headline read that STAR Labs was being evacuated due to weather. His eyes widened and he turned the volume up on the screen that was hanging on the wall. The two patrons would just have to deal with the noise.

 

“STAR labs has asked everyone to evacuate the building because engineers can’t regain control of the Accelerator.”

 

Barry’s stomach dropped. Cisco was one of those engineers. In fact, Cisco was the engineer in control of the accelerator. He started dialing for Cisco when the rain knocked out the lights. The TV went out and the two customers groaned. Clearly disappointed. The phone was ringing but Cisco wasn’t picking up.

 

“Come on… Come on…”

 

Then it connected.

 

“Barry!” It was rushed and Cisco sounded miles away. Like the phone was being held in a tunnel.

 

“Cisco!” He replied back instantly.

 

“Barry? I can’t hear you?”

 

Barry grumbled and hopped the counter to run outside. The door was heavy against the wind and the rain was pelting down on him. But the connection sounded slightly clearer.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

Then there was a loud boom. Barry looked up but couldn’t see anything past the skyscrapers surrounding the skyline. Then he saw a wave, a wave of light. And that didn’t look good. His phone was completely silent and the entire city block was dark. The lightening from the storm creating flashes of light every few seconds. There was another loud crash of thunder from a strike of lightening hitting the top of a building a block down. His eyes danced wildly between his phone and the sky. Then for a second he could swear a giant flash of light was coming for him.

 

And then it all went dark.


	2. Missed Time

 

**One month later:**

 

Almost a month has passed since the night of the Particle Accelerator launch. Cisco Ramon hadn’t left Caitlin’s apartment in that time. The weeks were consumed with him holding her on the couch as she sobbed and tiptoeing in the kitchen trying to make foods that she would eat. So far she could stomach oatmeal, toast, and rice pudding. Which was a shame because Cisco had some mean cooking skills. Like real mean.

 

It was three weeks since the Accelerator had failed. Which triggered an explosion in STAR labs and a destructive particle wave that sent shock waves into Central City. And it was 28 days since Ronnie Raymond played the ultimate hero of the night and ran into the depths of Star Labs to send the raw energy into the sky instead of outward in the city. Ronnie saved millions of people and died in the process.

 

STAR Labs had completely shut down following the launch and Cisco had rushed to the hospital with Caitlin who had abrasions on her face and a possibly broken wrist from the shrapnel from explosions in the corridor that separated her between Ronnie and safety.

 

He remembered being upstairs when his phone call with Barry had gone completely dead. The power, the noise, everything was silent, then he heard sobbing and instantly he dropped his phone to run to Caitlin. He had never heard her cry like that, but he knew. It wasn’t even until he was in the hospital he remembered he left his cellphone. Which was low key a tragedy because the customizations.

 

It was chaotic in STAR Labs and when the ambulances rushed in Cisco had seen Dr. Wells unconscious on a stretcher. His legs uncomfortably stiff looking.

 

Weeks out and Caitlin was still in shock. He felt a duty as Ronnie’s former best man and as Caitlin’s best to be there for her. For whatever she could possibly need. He helped wash her hair after the first week because her wrist was wrapped up tightly in a cast. He cleaned up after when she moved from couch to couch. Cisco was there for whatever she needed. And as the weeks went on she stopped crying for hours on hours and started to eat solid foods. There was progress after this disaster.

 

It was Day thirty of Post STAR Labs Life when he realized that he had never texted Barry back. He had a new cellphone delivered after Caitlin was released from the hospital but he rarely checked it. And when did, he never had messages. Especially no messages from the sweet barista from Jitters. Occasionally he would call Dr. Wells to check in. Apparently in the sonic waves from the explosion, he had been thrown into a wall paralyzing him from the waist down. Caitlin had actually taken the news worse than he did.

* * *

 

 

It was four weeks and 12 hours after the Particle Accelerator had effectively ruined their lives when Caitlin rolled over on the couch asking for a cronut from Jitters. This was pretty big news because Caitlin was asking for food and that she was waking up before noon. It wasn’t even until he opened the doors of the cozy coffee shop when he realized that Barry would be there. Sweet, good looking Barry, who had been ignoring his texts. Well the two texts. Cisco didn’t want to overload Barry with messages and after no response for a month he had been pretty effectively ignored, the messages weren’t even read. Just ‘delivered.” The sign was pretty obvious that Barry had moved on, but now it was too late to drive to the Jitters on the other side of town. He would have to own up and confidently get Caitlin her pastry and hope for the best.

 

And that’s when Iris, Barry’s sort-of sister walked over. She was stunning as the last time he remembered, all be it a little more tired. Which was sort of the vibe from Central City as a whole. A lot of people’s lives were changed because of that night.

 

“Hey it’s Cisco, right?”

 

“Yeah and it’s Iris? “

 

She smiled and easily moved closer, she put her hand softly on his arm.

 

“How are you?”

 

Which is a super open ended question... Cisco had at least thousands of possible answers.  He felt hurt, upset, grieving, bored, sad, but he settled on. “Okay.”

 

Iris nodded and smiled softly. She reached an arm out to rest on his upper bicep.

 

“You’re probably looking for Barry.”

 

And then she paused. What sort of tone was that? That was not a good tone.

 

“He’s coming back to work tomorrow part time tomorrow…” She continued and looked down.

 

“Where was he?” Cisco asked trying to pry as desperate as he wanted to. And she actually looked slightly shocked.

 

“Oh… You didn’t know… The night of the Particle Accelerator launch, he uh.” She paused again, and jeez the suspense was killing him.

 

“Barry was struck by lightning... Outside in the street. He uh. Went unconscious and these kids found him and took him to the hospital- thank god. Apparently his phone had been completely been fried. My dad and I got the phone call that he was there the next day. “She paused, clearly this was still a tender subject. She cleared away a few sniffles and continued.

 

“He was flat-lining not stop and the doctors said the only way to stop the heart attacks was to put him in a medically induced coma.” She stopped again, and he had to remind himself to swallow. How dumb could he be assuming that Barry didn’t text him back for anything less than legitimate reasons.

 

“And??” 

 

“He woke up last week.” She smiled a little more honestly this time. “He’s still a little out of it but he wants to come back to work as soon as possible. You know Barry, he will not listen to anyone but himself. So yeah. Barry will be back.”

 

And that did make Cisco smile.

 

“How about you? I saw some stuff on the news but I…” And his smile faded. He moved Iris to a table and they continued their conversation. Despite not knowing Iris very well he felt relieved to be able to share the last months’ worth of grief with a willing participant. And bless her heart she even looked concerned.

 

* * *

 

 

Barry had chosen not to take extended time off from Jitters. It wasn’t that Joe would mind him not working and resting (in fact he encouraged it), but it felt weird to miss three weeks of one’s life. Plus the medical bills were probably going to kill him. Barry wanted to get things back to normal as soon as possible. Iris had insisted that he switched to afternoon shifts so that she could keep any eye on him for the first few weeks. Which honestly didn’t sound too bad.

 

So when he rolled into Jitters late on Tuesday afternoon he hadn’t expected everything to be _so slow_. The lunch rushed had ended long before he walked in and there was only a handful of customers with half empty coffee’s looking busy. He exhaled and met Iris at the counter.

 

“Bar, are you sure about this?”

 

“Yeah, afternoons at Jitter’s are sort of my speed right now. Slow.” He half-laughed as he pulled an apron over his sweater. It wasn’t that he felt slow, just everything else did. The week that Joe forced him to rest on the couch was agonizing. Imagine watching the Price is Right in slow mode. It was probably just a weird side effect from being struck by lightning. Which was still the craziest thing to say. How many people get struck by lightning?

 

“Barry?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

And Iris shook her head and turned away from him to help a customer. With the final knot Barry in his apron, he clocked in and was ready to be one hell of a barista. Unfortunately that time thing didn’t change and after three hours of refilling coffee and taking orders he was exhausted.

 

At about hour four of his shift something slightly weirder than usual happened. Kendra, the barista who had been hired to replace him tripped. Which alone wasn’t the weird part, but in the moment when she tripped; Barry felt like time had slowed down so she could see every second of her falling. And his heart was racing so fast that exact moment she fell he could see the trajectory of the plates falling to the ground. And the exceptional part was that he caught the plates before they crashed. He must have been ten feet away. But he raced to catch the plates within seconds. Adrenal was weird. Again, weird side effect of being struck by lightning apparently.

 

But after that little incident Barry’s day continued slowly and unusual. With the minor buzzing in his arms and legs. Probably from being restless.

 

* * *

 

It was eight pm and time to finally go home after the longest shift of Barry’s life. If it hadn’t been for the caffeine pumping through his veins he probably would have fallen asleep standing up at the counter. Which he had actually done his junior year of college after not sleeping for three days to write a final lab report. But with how much he was sleeping, it was sort of surprising how sleepy he felt.

 

Iris had left an hour before him to go on a date with a blonde from the police station. She insisted he was an ass but had covered a few of Joe’s shifts when Barry was in the hospital and she wanted to be nice. So what he gathered the blonde from the station was pretty and definitely Iris’ type.

 

It was brisk outside. December in Central City wasn’t unbearable but a sensible jacket and scarf was a must. The walk from Jitters to Joe’s would be a nice break from standing around the coffee shop. And as he passed city blocks, Barry naturally started to let muscle memory walk him home; barely paying attention to his surroundings. Which is probably why he didn’t notice a stranger come from behind him and grab his satchel with his laptop in it and bolt away from him.

 

“STOP!”

 

Screaming stop in an empty street is about effective as you’d think. They stranger did not stop and continued to run. And instantly Barry started running to catch up with the thief who was sprinting down the avenue. And then it happened again like in the coffee shop, everything slowed down and Barry sped up faster than ever before and grabbed the assailant. Unfortunately he also couldn’t stop his legs which were moving faster than he had ever remembered running before. They crashed to the ground and his laptop bounced away from the two of them into a shrub.

 

Barry rolled to the side, his body vibrating in excitement and adrenal. He glanced at the young kid who had tried to steal his bag. The kid was a young female who was looking at him like he was on fire. Her eyes were wide and she was backing away on her hands. Clearly confused, he looked down and realized his hands and arms were completely shaking so quickly that he could barely see them. And that was not normal. Possibly a side effect of lightening but also of something even more unlikely. Before he could say anything or even process the events the girl had run away. Without his bag. So overall a win.

 

The vibrating spread to his legs and Barry found himself standing, wobbling, and then immediately running. Running even faster than moments before. His legs moving quicker than the cars he was passing on these side streets of Central City. He could feel the wind around him and honestly it was the most exhilarating feeling in the world. He couldn’t remember being struck by lightning but it must have been as electrifying as this moment. Barry let his legs carry him, running between cars, through his favorite park growing up, and down 9th street. Which was a dead end. And shit-fuck.

 

The vibrating stopped and Barry landed face first in a large pillow like pile of trash-waiting to be collected the next morning. And all of this was too weird to comprehend. Apparently being struck by lightning wasn’t making everything else slower, it was making Barry that much quicker.  After picking banana peels off of his body and putting out the small rubber fire from his shoes he started to run again. And the run back to Joe’s was the quickest commute in his life.

 

Joe was sweet enough to have left dinner for him on the stove and it wasn’t until he laid down, exhausted by the night that he remembered he had left his laptop in the middle of Central City. And within 5 minutes he had run, plugged it in checked his email, and was tucked back into bed. Shaking slightly in excitement and a grin on his face.

 

* * *

 

 

Cisco waited three more full days before visiting Jitters again. It would be weird to show up on Barry’s first day, or second day. And maybe third day. But again it was too late to turn around. He pushed through the double doors and saw the tall cute barista leaning against the counter. He had to do a double take because it looked like Barry had gotten even taller and leaner since the last time he had seen him.

 

His palms felt sweaty and his stomach tight, but dammit he wanted to see that bright smile up close again. So he walked closer with faked confidence and an open smile. He didn’t even have to get half way before the tall brunette called his name.

 

“CISCO!”

 

_Yes._

 

“Oh man, how have you been?”

 

Man? Oh shit. Had he been reading this situation wrong from the beginning? Man was a for-sure friend word. But the thought went right out the window when Barry closed his arms around him and gave him a hug. Which was sort of awesome. Barry smelled like coffee beans and vanilla. Which was probably the coolest combo of smells Cisco could think of.

 

“I should be asking you the same thing.” Cisco laughed trying to keep the last month as light as possible. And Barry pulled away slightly and with a small smile nodded.

 

“Yeah. I think we have a lot to catch up on.”

 

“Coffee?”

 

“UGH. No anything but.”

 

“Dinner?”

 

And Barry nodded while still smiling. And Cisco couldn’t help matching the smile with equal brightness. At least somethings hadn’t changed from the explosion. Barry Allen was still the sweetest thing in the world. And it appeared as if the lightning strike hadn’t changed him or his feelings for him. Things were looking up for Cisco.

 

* * *

 

It was sundown in Central City when Barry had taken Iris to the small park down the street. It wasn’t a long walk and it wasn’t raining or windy so they walked shoulder to shoulder like old times. He was vibrating slightly in excitement. He couldn’t wait to show Iris the coolest thing ever.

 

“Iris?” He said stopping the two of them at the top of the hill with the best views of the sunset.

 

“Yeah Bar?”

 

“I want to show you something. Something impossible.”

 

And he stepped away from her and ran.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, 
> 
> This chapter is over due, but I do have a game plan. I am planning for a 7 to 9 chapter fic. I am currently working full time while attending college so I am a mess. I am hoping to get the next chapter out before Saturday, then another long break until I've graduate. 
> 
> But stick with me! 
> 
> This is fun to write. 
> 
> Also this fic will feature a lot of Iris. She is great.


	3. Almost Time

 

Chapter 3

 

“What the hell was that? “

 

Which might have not been the response Barry was expecting after running around Central City Central Park three times in one minute. He was expecting squeals of excitement or shouts of awe and wonder. But instead Iris clutched at her scarf and looked at him like he was insane.

 

“I can do it again if you missed it? If I was too fast.”

 

She scoffed and sat down on the bench near them. Looking at him still with disbelief.

 

“I must be hallucinating...” She paused and Barry walked closer to her. “I fell asleep over the espresso machine. That was impossible. No one can run that fast.”

 

“You’re not hallucinating. Iris, trust me. Give me your phone.” He grabbed Iris’s phone from her and ran in the opposite direction. Before she could even yell after him he was back pointing the phone in her face revealing a photo of her. A photo of herself sitting in a park bench taken from at least 50 feet away.

 

“This is crazy… You’re fast. “

 

“Also you have a text from ‘pretty boy detective’. Eddie move up from pretty boy asshole has he?”

 

She scoffed again and grabbed the phone from him. Quickly replying to the text and shoving the phone back into her purse. Barry sat down next to her. Both not speaking trying to digest the moment.

 

“So why…how?”

 

“I think it is because I was struck by lightning. Since I’ve been released from the hospital everything seemed so slow and it’s not because the world got slower. It’s because I’m faster.”

 

“So lightening gave you super speed?”

 

“And apparently abs.”

 

She laughed and he joined her. It was ridiculous. His life was ridiculous and he was so pleased that Iris hadn’t freaked out. But before he could ask Iris anything else, a women on the other side of the park screamed in absolute anguish. Her stroller with her baby was toppling down the series of stairs leading to the bottom of the park.

 

Barry looked to Iris, their eyes connecting, both expressing the need to go help the child.

 

“Barry run!! Wait! Actually, cover your face!” He nodded and zipped up his red hoodie and pulled the hood over his hair and pulled it tight.

 

“Now run!”

 

And he did. He zoomed across the green lawn and up dozens of stairs to block the stroller from falling down any further. He zipped up the rest of the stairs and parked it in front of the mother who hadn’t even begin to process the development of a fast man saving her child. Shock and confusion danced across her face, but Barry didn’t want to stick around. And after wrapping the frantic mom’s hands around the bars of the stroller he dashed off and back to the park bench. Where Iris remained, her face in a huge smile.

 

And the world caught up to Barry as he sat down next to Iris again. Before he could speak, her fist collided with his arm.

 

“Dude! You just saved that baby!!!”

 

And he laughed as he mocked grabbed his arm in pain. They laughed and watched people crowd around the lady. They all were still in shock.

 

“Hey Iris…What if I used this speed thing to save people?”

 

“Like the hood?”

 

“Exactly like the hood… Well minus the possible murder chargers.”

 

* * *

 

 

He laid in bed and glanced at his phone, he hadn’t checked it all night. No texts from Cisco. Frowning he rolled away from his phone. Cisco was probably busy. He rolled over again to look at his phone to check again. Nothing. Ugh. He tossed and turn for several minutes before grabbing his phone and started to type.

 

“ _Hope you had a good day.  : )_ ”

 

He rolled over definitively. Then he heard a little buzz.

 

“ _You too.  : )_ “

 

And he felt warm from his toes to his face. He couldn’t wait to officially go on a date with Cisco and reclaim those three weeks he lost. Things were going awesome.

 

* * *

 

 

“Barry this is awesome you’re on twitter.”

 

He blinked. “I’m on what?”

 

“People posted about a mysterious red streak saving a baby at Central City Park last night at sunset.”

 

“Well that’s a start.”  And he heard a buzz from his pocket. It was a text from Cisco since he initiated the texting, they hadn’t stopped for the past 10 hours. Cisco was currently sending him photos of the beautiful food dishes he was making Caitlin.

 

_‘yumm. Super jealous.’_ He typed.

 

“The next step is branding you.” Iris spoke as she scrolled through her phone.

 

“Doing what to me?” Barry asked looking up at her unamused.

 

“Marketing your image. We want you to be known across the internet as a friendly superhero. All of the tweets note the mysterious streak was red. So we got to roll with that.”

 

“Okay, so like a wear a red hoodie?”

 

“But we also need a name, and honestly you can’t save people wearing blue jeans and converse. No one will take you seriously.”

 

“Yeah and my shoes were kind of burnt out after that.”

 

Another buzz.

 

_‘Maybe I can cook for you sometime. ; ) ‘_

And he smiled into his phone and before he could respond Iris snatched his phone out of his hands.

 

“Who are you texting?? Oh… the cute guy who keeps stopping by Jitters. He’s nice.” She said and started to swipe through their conversation.

 

“Oh Barry. Geeze, you certainly aren’t playing hard to get.”

 

And he grabbed the phone back from her and cradled it to his chest.

 

“Whatever, at least I admit I like someone. Unlike you and Eddie.”

 

She gave him an unamused look and they changed the subject away from their dating lives and back to Barry Allen-vigilante.  

 

“So we need to talk about your image. I’m think we need a name and a new look.”

 

“Yeah okay, what were you thinking?”

 

“Maybe the Streak.”

 

“Ugh, no that’s awful. I don’t want people calling me a gross word. It needs to be something catchy and quick. Something that will stick, like… the Flash.”

 

And she stood up, “that’s good. Really good. Now we just need a costume.”

 

* * *

 

 

Caitlin was typing away on her computer, probably looking at some boring medical documents. He was super thankful that she had finally deleted Ronnie’s Facebook page and stopped looking at their engagement photos on repeat. That was a mess. He had been baking all day, partially because his homemade bread pudding was delicious, but also because he wanted to show off to Barry.  

 

He was so distracted by his photo and the process of trying to the find the perfect angle that he didn’t even notice Caitlin get up from the couch and stand in front of him.

 

“I just got an email from Dr. Wells.”

 

He blinked and set down his phone. Neither of them had heard from Dr. Wells after the initial few weeks of the explosion and confusion.

 

“What did he want?”

 

“He wants me...us to come help him rebuild STAR Labs. He wants us to help all of those people who were hurt...in the explosion.”

 

He reached out and grabbed her hand rubbing small circles into her palm. It was just over a month since the particle accelerator failed and Ronnie had died, he couldn’t even begin to image what she was feeling.

 

“I want to do it.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“If anything will get me off this couch it’s a chance to continue Ronnie’s legacy… Of saving people.”

 

He smiled and completely forgot about taking Instagram worthy photos of his food.

 

“But first. I think it’s time I got some new clothes. I’ve been wearing pj’s for a whole month.”

 

* * *

 

 

Barry has no idea how he had let himself be dragged to the mall by Iris. They were weaving in and out of stores to find an appropriate costume for Central City’s new vigilante.

 

“I really think we should go back to that one place and get those leather jeans. You looked positively heroic in them.”

 

“Iris, they were leather. They’ll chafe.”

 

“But you looked hot.”

 

“Ugh. I think I should just get some athletic ware. Like some bicycle shorts and maybe a long sleeve shirt.” He held up a dark red spandex bicycle shirt.

 

“Do you really want to be the superhero known for wearing spanks?”

 

“There not spanks, their spandex!”

 

He shouted as she started to wonder away to the women’s section. He started to grab several of the spandex shirts when he noticed the last person he would expect to be in the mall. Cisco. He immediately flushed, his face a parody of the dark red shirts in his arm.

 

“Barry, hey! Oh wow. That’s a lot of spandex…”

 

Barry looked at the stockpile of running clothes in his arms.

 

“Cisco, hey. The clothes…Yeah, did I mention that I use to—“

 

And like an angel Iris was suddenly by his side.

 

“Barry is actually training for the Central City marathon. After the lightening it’s sort of a way to reclaim yourself, right Bar?”

 

And that was the smoothest answer possible. No wonder she was becoming a journalist.

 

“Right on, oh hey let me grab Caitlin so you both can meet her.”

 

Barry shifted on his heels, wondering how he always ended up in these embarrassing situations. Caitlin and Cisco returned and from what he had been told, it was a big deal that Caitlin was out and about.

 

And when she appeared from the Women’s section, she seemed pleasantly surprised to meet Barry and Iris.

 

“I’ve heard so much about you. You’re the guy that Cisco has been sending photos to all morning.”

 

“Not those kind of photos!” Barry and Cisco squawked in almost unison and Iris and Caitlin laughed.

 

They continued to talk for several moments before Barry and Iris had to leave to return to work.

 

“I’ll see you Friday at 6, right?” Barry asked hesitantly shifting the now purchased bags of running clothes from hand to hand.

 

“Yeah, at Racca’s Pizza. You sure you don’t want me to pick you up?”

 

“Nah, I’ll run over after work.”

 

“Cool, see you then.” Cisco said as he patted Barry’s arm and left with Caitlin. His stomach tossing and turning with butterflies.

 

* * *

  

“Okay, so I’ll be in your ear telling you where to run. Literally all you have to do is run.”

 

“You sure the police scanner is going to work?”

 

She gave him a look and glanced around at the current living room they were inhabiting. Joe’s living room was decorated with miscellaneous police memorabilia including this police scanner which they found in the closet.

 

“Fair point. Okay, so do I just go?”  


“Yes! Go run. 14th and Stout!”

 

And he dashed out of the West residence and in to the city. It was weird to be passing cars and people in a flash. This was his first day as Central City’s vigilante. And he wanted it to go perfectly.

 

“Okay so what I am I looking for?” He shouted into his ear as he passed a restaurant.

 

“A 64 on your left in two blocks”

 

“A panhandler?? “

 

“No a robbery in progress.”

 

“You mean a 211.”

 

“Whatever, the shop keeper at the Kum and Go is getting robbed. Go be a hero your idiot.”

 

He dashed into the store and grabbed the gun and proceeded to hand it to the shopkeeper and then run down the street with the robber in tow. He ran them up the steps of the police department, keeping his face down in case Joe was in the lobby and left the robber, alone and confused in the precinct.

 

He was laughing as he leaned against the wall outside.

 

“Barry!! That was great. You ready for the next one?”

 

* * *

 

 

“Cisco, hurry up! We’re going to be late for our first day!” Caitlin yelled as she slipped on a pair of insensible, but very cute heels on.

 

“I’ll be right there. I’m just checking my news feed.” He shouted back as he scrolled through various blogs on his phone.

 

“Cisco!”

 

“It’s not even our first day, we’ve worked at STAR labs for like three years.”

 

“But it’s our first day back and I don’t want to be late. What is so important that you can’t check in the car?”

 

“Check it out.” Cisco said as he pressed a button on his phone that immediately queued up a video on their tv screen. She groaned but the six second video played of a person bolting a long a street with a long yellowish red streak behind them.

 

“What was that?”

 

“No one knows. But it’s freaking amazing.”

 

Caitlin scoffed and walked always, distantly commenting for him to get in the car or she would leave him.

 

* * *

 

 

Barry was running late to say the least. Iris had convinced him to stop a mugging on his way to work and it took way longer than he had expected. The mugger had actually been so flustered that someone had stopped him, especially someone with super speed that he wouldn’t stop blubbering to Barry. And now he was seriously late. He ran past his favorite bakery after Jitters and down Larimer until he made a sharp left and stopped directly outside the pizzeria.

 

Cisco was looking at his phone and fortunately had missed Barry’s running dash.

 

“Hey, Cisco! Sorry I’m late...”

 

“No worries Barry…” Cisco paused and stared at him and shouted. “Fire!!”

 

Barry looked around wondering what was on fire and realized that it was him. The soles of his shoes were sparking. After stomping around for several minutes he stopped to catch his breath. He forcefully laughed.

 

“Ha-ha, must have been running so fast...”

 

“But rubber doesn’t burn unless the surface is over 500 degrees…”

 

Barry’s eyes twitched. Goddamn Cisco was smart.

 

“Oh you know, just so excited to be here that I must have been running super-fast. Well not that excited… But excited.” He groaned. Ugh, super speed did not give him any smoothness unfortunately.

 

Cisco must have gotten the hint and dropped the conversation. He smiled and led them in.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still no date! Next time though. Also expect metahumans next time, Barry can't be the only one. Also have I mentioned how much I love the women of the Flash?


End file.
